Intermediate Pt2 Sarbanes Oxley Act

Corporate Executive Accountability:

Executives must personally certify financial statements and disclosures.
Severe penalties and imprisonment for inaccuracies.

Non-Audit Services:

Prohibits auditors from providing certain non-audit services to audit clients.
Includes bookkeeping, internal audit outsourcing, appraisal services, and consulting.

Retention of Work Papers:

Auditors must retain all audit or review work papers for seven years.

Auditor Rotation:

Lead audit partners must rotate every five years.

Conflicts of Interest:

Audit firms cannot audit public companies if executives were previously employed by the audit firm.

Hiring of Auditors:

Audit firms are hired by the audit committee, not by the company's management.

Section 404:

Requires management to document the effectiveness of internal control processes affecting financial accounting.

Oversight Board (PCAOB):

Establishes standards for auditing, quality control, ethics, and independence.
Replaces AICPA in setting auditing standards for public companies.